The Audacious Life of a Boy
by Jester310
Summary: Doflamingo has always thought that his son has the worst temperament of a wet cat. That is,until he meets Luffy. But as he spent more time with the teen,he later discovers that underneath the emperor class temperament,the boy is just an embodiment of simplicity who yearns for life sparkling adventure despite his health condition and over protective father. Family Fluff.


**Title: The Audacious Life of a Boy**

**Chapter 1: The Joyful Beginning Of Summer**

**Pairing: No actual pairing with quite a few important characters.**

**Rating: T for swearing**

**Summary: Doflamingo has always thought that his son, Law has the worst temperament of a wet cat. That is, until he meets Luffy. But as he spent more time with the teen, he later discovered that underneath the emperor class temperament, the 15-year old boy was nothing but an embodiment of simplicity who yearns for life sparkling adventure despite his health condition and over protective father. AU. Friendship and family fluff. **

**A/N: I know that my other projects are way behind the schedule and haven't been updated for a century long. But I REALLY must write this one. Don't know why, but the idea just popped out of nowhere.**

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"What was that?"

At the end of his question, Doflamingo could feel his eyebrows had shot up and reached the hairline. Other people would probably or _most definitely_ cower with the way he utilized his tone—firm and two notes higher than his usual. He had spent almost three hours driving all the way from his hometown to Primula city for a meeting only to discover that there was a slight complication with the hotel reservation he was supposed to stay at.

_Slight?_ Scratch that. To him at this moment, it was a _BIG_ complication.

"You have my deepest apology, Mr. Donquixote." The hotel manager with the nametag that spelled 'Lucci' accepted Doflamingo's attempted glare with a calm demeanor that made the blond wanted to ruin the man's life. Permanently. But then again, this was his fifth stay at that hotel and after his second stay, the wavy haired man had somewhat became immune with his temperament, unlike the other employees who still quivered by only a raised eyebrow.

_'How odd. Usually it takes years for people to be immune with him considering his size and not to mention, status. Even his years long employees still jolt in their seat when glowered at.'_

The tycoon didn't even want to ponder over the mystery of when Lucci received the extra balls to actually respond him with a poker face without batting an eyelid. For now, he was more content with venting at the receptionist who appeared like a poor Bambi that was about to be mauled by a pack of wolf.

Just now however, Lucci had managed to slip himself in between Doflamingo and the trembling receptionist when he sensed that the tycoon's glare was going to melt the poor girl into dust right after she announced the news.

The verdict? Doflamingo's name was absent from the reservation list. Or to be exact, his name was written in the reservation list for next week. And he was unhappy—absolutely unhappy with the revelation.

By now, the golden brow has knitted together in irritation. And just to emphasize his mood at that moment, Doflamingo took off his purple shades so he could glare clearly and by any means, harder than necessary. His aquamarine eyes appeared two shades darker and whether it was due to the lighting in the lobby or from pure frustration, nobody really wanted to have a wild guess.

"Just how in the hell—"

Lucci cut the blond in the middle and saw the man readjusted his luggage so it would stay upfront on the floor. "The person in charge that day who made the reservation for you is a new worker. So I'm fully prepared if she made mistake—"

"I don't care." Now it was Doflamingo's turn to cut the manager. A sigh escaped his lips as he shook his head. "I don't care if she's new, old, makes hundreds mistakes or even involves in a secret underground society that sells internal organs."

Lucci just had to raise his eyebrow at that.

"Just tell me that you have another vacant room." As he leaned his upper body against the counter, he tycoon finished with another dull sigh.

Next to him, a raven haired man has just arrived, fully equipped with a briefcase in one hand and a luggage in other hand. The long double breasted, black coat that hung just above his knees did a very well done job in hiding whatever he was wearing inside. Still, judging by the way the man was carrying himself—the straight posture, the way he hold the pen, the calmness in his voice when he spoke to the other receptionist or how he corked his head to the side in confusion—anyone could tell the man was indeed in a most formal mode at that moment.

"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Mr. Donquixote."

When the statement reached his ears, Doflamingo's attention was back on Lucci by hundred fifty-_fucking_-percent. As if the earlier news was not any less awful, now the manager was going to deliver another blow that definitely not going to make his day brighter in any other way. If this whole fucked up pantomime was arranged by some dimwitted asshole, then the blond made sure to make a mental note to transform the fiend into some sort of toy and serves him as a slave for the rest of his life for future vengeance.

"All the rooms in this hotel are fully booked."

Doflamingo closed his eyes momentarily as if to savor the torturous feeling God had descended upon him. At that particular moment, the blond imagined that it was raining blood outside where creatures from Hell had been released and somehow made their way into the hotel lounge. Blood splattered on the wall and mutilated flesh scattered all over the floor only to be feasted by the gory devils.

Then the blond opened his eyes. _Nope nothing happened_. Everything seemed normal like it was supposed to. Rob Lucci was still in one piece and staring at him with that overly straight impression as though the man had never experience even one day out of his entire life in misfortune. That only made Doflamingo wanted slapped the manager three times across his face if that would ruin Lucci's day.

After blaspheming for another solid one minute, it was only the Doflamingo responded. Not without a scowl of course. "What do you mean it's fully book? Since when a five star hotel becomes everyone favorite place to stay and have a cappuccino? Did these people win a bonanza in some kind of gladiator tournament?!"

"It's holiday season." As he slightly rubbed his perfectly trimmed goatee, Lucci deadpanned as if that would make any sense. At least, not to Doflamingo. "For some unknown reason, there are quite a number of conferences and events being held in this town for these few weeks. It's just not just this hotel, but other hotels are mostly fully booked by now."

"Lucci," Bracing his palms on the counter, the tycoon leaned forward and darted his eyes towards the country style vintage clock hung on the wall behind the manager. It was already five minutes past seven. "I have approximately three hours before the meeting with the city council and now that I know that I still don't have a place to stay for the night, I'm EXTREMELY unhappy. And if I attend the meeting with this mood," The tycoon pointed his finger towards his own face before continuing. "A lot of people are going to get dismembered—"

"Excuse me."

Nobody seemed to notice the intervention of the deep, baritone voice.

"Calm down Mr. Donquixote. Could you just let me finish my sentence?" Lucci raised both of his hands in defenses. "I'm going to liaise with other hotel to assist you in your accommodation—"

"_Excuse me." _The same voice interrupted them. Only louder and firmer this time around.

Both head turned to the side—the blond and raven. It appeared that the Mr. Overly Formal was the one who had interrupted the hotel manager and the tycoon from ripping each other's throats.

Now that he was facing the blond, only then Doflamingo finally realized that the man stands at least a foot shorter than him, but his lean body somehow makes him appears taller than he should be. By any means, it's not Mr. Overly Formal that is short, but it's Doflamingo whose larger than life and makes everyone around him looks like a midget. Most of his jet black hair was slicked back although there were still defiant strands hanging above his forehead. His skin is slightly pale, but not pale enough to be mistaken as walking corpse or someone who's in a brink of death.

Doflamingo waited for the Mr. Overly Formal to state his reason for interrupting their death and life quarrel. Otherwise, he would go straight to strangling Lucci with his necktie.

The raven took few steps closer, hands still holding on his briefcase and luggage. "My apology," Mr. Overly Formal started and the blond just had to raise his eyebrow. _Who in this world still use 'my apology' in this time and era anyway?_

"I could not help but overheard your conversation regarding your problem with the room reservation." He stopped just a couple of feet away, set his briefcase on the tiled floor and lifted his head slightly due to their height difference. "I am leaving right now whereas my room is reserved under my name supposedly for the whole week. If it is all right for you, then you may have the room."

"Really?" Doflamingo replied a little too fast. Perhaps Lady Luck has lost her mind and suddenly had the urge to favor him more. Whatever nonsensical reason was, it didn't bother him one bit as long as his reservation problem was settled.

Mr. Overly Formal then turned to Lucci. Hell, Doflamingo really needed to stop referring him such now that he know the man was officially his savior. "I made a reservation for a week, but I am leaving today and this man is going to replace me as the occupant of the room. I believe there will be no problem with this arrangement, yes?"

For a short period of time, the hotel manager seemed to be in what Doflamingo would refer as a thinking mode. And during that period as well the blond shot a rather heated glare as if to dare Lucci to oppose what Mr. Overly Formal had just said.

But he didn't. Not because of Doflamingo glare but at the logic points made by the short haired raven. "No, there's no problem with such arrangement."

If Mr. Overly Formal is a lady, the tycoon would have hug and rain kisses all over him just to express his gratitude. He isn't a man with overflowing good manner and he was often described as a 'Heartless Asshole with Superiority Complex' by many people, but just for this occasion, Doflamingo did really feel grateful.

"God! Never in my life would I've thought that good news can be delivered by an overly formal stranger!" It wasn't exactly words of gratitude, but Doflamingo assured himself that point was made. That, and he really did ought to remove the 'overly formal' from his speech just now.

"Is everything all right, Mr. Dracule?" All of sudden, Lucci inquired, probably wondering the reason over the man's sudden departure.

The said man let out a weary sigh. "Yes, everything is fine. I was informed by the organizer that they had made a drastic changes and the conference is to be held at Corrida Hall instead." Fiddling with his cuff straps, another sigh made his way out of the thin lips.

"Why they did not inform me beforehand or at least yesterday was beyond my comprehension."

"At Acacia? The neighboring city?" The manager asked further as he began assorting the information required for Doflamingo's stay in the computer. Usually this would be done by the receptionist herself, but many thanks to the tycoon, the girl currently was still suffering a mental breakdown in some godforsaken corner and now it was up to Lucci to continue where she had left off. He noticed the pale man had his brows pinched together in dilemma but decided to ignore the sudden change in body language for now.

"Give me your name card." Doflamingo rummaged through his pants and took out his wallet. "Tell me which hotel you're staying at Acacia later and get them to send the bill to my company. You've paid for your stay here so it's only fair for me to pay yours." The blonde further reasoned and handed the raven his own name card.

"I see." The man nodded in understanding and took out his name card for before handing it to the taller man. "I suppose that make sense."

Both men took in the details in the exchanged cards. The raven haired man was the first to have a slight change in his expression.

_Donquixote Companies Inc… _

_Donquixote Doflamingo… _

_President/CEO…_

It didn't take more than five seconds later for Doflamingo to have the very same expression as the others.

_Dracule Mihawk…_

_Sebio City Attorney…_

The man named Mihawk corked his head to the side as he took in the newly found information. No one within the state was unfamiliar with the name Donquixote. At least, not to government official. It's a nationally large—_extremely large_—company based in Sebio which specialized in many services including integrated projects delivery, sustainable design for offices, public sectors, lean construction practices, real estate management and etc. Long to short, they are the builder, the designer and as well as real estate manager of most of the development in the country with more than seven-hundred employees overall.

"You are the current head of Donquixote family." Mihawk broke the awkward silence with a statement rather than a question.

Ten seconds has lapsed and the blond before him has yet to offer any type of respond. On Doflamingo end, the man was wondering on his lack of perception in recognizing important people especially those who hold law within the palm of their hands. He was familiar with Mihawk's name considering his line of work, but the company head was unable ring any bell inside his head when he saw the man's face for the first time.

"You're the new attorney." Finally, Doflamingo replied when found the answer to his earlier inward question but needed confirmation from Mihawk himself.

"Yes I am." The raven haired man slipped the name card inside his wallet before placing it back into his pocket. "This is my first year of my term."

"I see." Doflamingo nodded and everything seemed to make sense. New people, new face and not to mention he had never met Mihawk face-to-face before.

"Do I need to be worried?" Hand slipped into his side pocket, the blonde posture was relaxed unlike just before now.

Slim, dark eyebrow rose slightly. "Do you have any reason to be?"

"Not that I can think of." The blonde answered swiftly with a slight grin splitting his face. _Not yet at least._

Meters away from them Lucci suddenly stopped typing and allowed his eyes to roam across the hotel lounge—left and right, back and forth—as though he was searching for someone. "Are you leaving alone?"

"Yes, I am."

By now, Lucci had stopped typing and gave a questioning look with a touch of hesitation that made Doflamingo to wonder. _Why did Lucci look like as though someone had punched him in the gut and was about to repeat it for another five times? _

"Then how about—"

Mihawk raised his hand—a universal gesture which requested for the other to be silent. "Actually I am about to tell him about that."

"About what?" This shilly-shally attitude was beginning to get in Doflamingo's nerve. If they were keeping a gravely secret, let's say a world class criminal slash a genius slash a mad scientist is now has his mouth stuffed with an apple, tied and kept inside the closet in Mihawk's room, then the tycoon felt he had every liberty to act jittery and slightly alert.

"The thing is Mr. Donquixote," Mihawk began and saw how Doflamingo's posture became rigid all of sudden, but still continued. "I have brought my son along with me and currently he is still sleeping in the room." Then, he noticed the blonds' shoulder sagged and the man was back in his laid back demeanor. "So long to short, you will be staying with him until my business is finish at Acacia."

"You're going to leave your boy here?" Until he knew what the circumstances the attorney was going through, Doflamingo didn't want to judge. But he couldn't help but to wonder. After all, Mihawk appeared to be someone who is without doubt an overly formal and by the book type of guy so the blond highly doubted the man would just leave his son without a VERY good reason.

And with a stranger, no less.

After good minutes of standing, Mihawk walked to one of the leather sofas scattering inside the lobby and took a seat, motioning Doflamingo to do the same. Once the blonde too sat down on the adjacent seat, it was only then the raven proceeded.

"The notice of the change came in this morning and it was too sudden. Not only I have the difficulty in waking up my son, I myself feel reluctant to disturb his sleep when he finally able to get some rest at three in the morning. And if I did manage to wake and drag him with me, it would be very inconvenience since I have to attend the conference as soon as I arrive at Acacia and he has to wait for me for the entire day long whereas I still have not made any hotel reservation."

Leaning his back against the soft cushioning of the sofa, Mihawk sighed softly and smoothed out any wrinkles on his coat. Well, not that there was any to begin with. "I do know he would be furious at me since I was the one who forced him to be here and I hope you are not bothered by this arrangement."

"Most unlikely. I'm as content as a sea cucumber as long that my place to stay for the nights is settled. But still," Doflamingo rest his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. "Are okay with this? I mean, we've just met and you're fine leaving your son with me? That doesn't sound so healthy does it?"

Before him, the attorney tilted his head few degree to the side as though Doflamingo's question just now had struck the odd nerves system inside him.

"I know you, Mr. Donquixote. Not personally but I have came across your company files along with yours and many other records. People often refer you as the '_Heavenly Demon'_ or most commonly the '_Heartless Bastard That Deserves A Pole Shoved Into His Ass'_."

Doflamingo didn't know if he should be amused by now. _So his nickname has been upgraded…_

"But I know a true crook when I see one." The raven haired man then locked his eyes with the blonds' blue ones. Under the lightning of chandelier, specks of gold reflecting the light seemed to intensify the original hazel color of Mihawks eyes. Now, rather than hazel, his eyes have shifted more into yellow-ish color, almost like a hawk—firm, sharp and full of confidence.

"And for that, I will trust my judgment." There was no hesitation in Mihawk voice, not even the slightest and Doflamingo just had to commend at that. _As expected from the city attorney. _

"But I have to give you an early warning." The attorney's eyes soften ever so slightly as he moved on to the next topic. To be honest, Doflamingo didn't have any idea on what to expect next. The son of the city attorney would be his room mate for the rest of the week and the blond wondered if there's anything more that could surprise him at that moment.

"My son…" For a solid three seconds, Mihawk paused as if he was trying his best to describe his own son without having to bite his tongue. "Has a very unique temperament. I need to tell you this beforehand so you can be mentally prepared."

Mentally prepared… _right_… The way the city attorney described it made it look like Doflamingo is going to be subjected as a participant in a greatest war of this era.

"What kind of temperament are we talking about here?"

"Well," His slim finger trailed over the neatly trimmed beard as leaned further into the cushion. "My eldest son describes him as someone with an emperor class temperament and selfishness. My second son describes him as a brother with zero self restraint. But to me, he is a fifteen year old teenager with an intelligent of a normal fifteen year old boy, a common sense of a ten year old boy and a temperament of a five year old."

"That bad?"

"Very."

"Then clearly you haven't met my son." Doflamingo snorted under his breath, receiving a questioning gaze from the other. "Eighteen years old with a God-like complex. You have three sons and I can see you're still in one piece. I have to deal with one only and I'm closing in to arrange my own funeral."

The tall man then continued. "Do you know how many therapist I've seen and how many therapy session I've been through? I swear that boy is going to make my heart wither before I reach fifty."

Shaking in his head, the blond wiped his shades with hanker chief before putting it back on. "Take it from me, I rather opt for a root canal job than dealing with his temperament. He even got a dog, put it in front of his own room and trained it so the dog would bite anyone within five feet range. Getting him down for a family dinner is like dragging a vampire out of his coffin and into an open field in the middle of the day. If this would make you feel any better, my son hisses, spits and growls at pretty much everyone."

On the outside, Mihawk was still wearing his usual stoic expression look. On the inside however, the raven haired man cringed. Instead of describing a son, it almost looked like Doflamingo was portraying a feline—a very _very _wet feline.

"So if your son is exactly as described," A small chuckle vibrated from Doflamingo's chest. "Then I'd get through this behemoth just fine with my eyes close."

"Mr. Dracule, Mr. Donquixote." Lucci closing in on them and both men looked up. "Everything has been settled. This your key."

The wavy haired man handed Doflamingo the room and as soon as his blue eyes landed on the numbering printed on the key, the blond was impressed. From the numbering alone, he knew he would be spending the rest of his nights in a suite located on the top floor.

Himself on the other hand, more than usual preferred the usual Executive Room to spend his night in considering he always did his business trip alone and Doflamingo saw no further purpose to choose anything fancier. But knowing Mihawk and his circumstances, the father of three probably wanted to provide the best hospitality for his son as an act of asking for forgiveness after dragging him all the way from their home and to Primula.

"I shall take my leave then." Mihawk stood up and grabbed his briefcase off the floor. "Is it all right if I call your phone, Mr. Donquixote? My son has the habit of misplacing his phone. I may need to call you so I can make sure that he takes his medication on time."

Similar to Mihawk, Doflamingo too grabbed the handle of his luggage as he twirled the key around his finger. "I guess that's fine. Is he sick?"

_No wonder the boy was grumpy as hell._

"A rare case of anemia." As he spoke, Doflamingo didn't miss the slightly pained look adorning Mihawk's face. It was clear the man was reluctant in leaving his son behind.

Even though the blond deemed that anemia is not a chronic disease, but Doflamingo still felt the need to enquire further information. "Is it serious? Is there any emergency code that I need to know?"

"As long as he follows his medication schedule, he will be just fine. That is why I need to make sure. And one more thing Mr. Donquixote," Mihawk paused momentarily until the said blond was fully facing him since he deemed that the information he was about to pass on next was crucial and thus required a full attention from Doflamingo.

Once Doflamingo turned on his heels and stood facing him, the attorney resumed. "When my son wakes up later, I am convinced that he would be confused and extremely shocked after seeing you. He would probably be in dazed for the first five seconds before screaming obscenity and panicking around like a small animal. So in order to make him to calm down and provide explanation, you need to say something that does not make sense."

"Such as?"

"Polly wanna cracker. Good day to you, Mr. Donquixote." Just like that, Mihawk nodded and spun on his heels before walking away from the overly confused tall man.

Rooted into the luxury vinyl tiled floor, Doflamingo just stood there as he stared at Mihawk's retreating back. His gaze lingered for a few seconds at the spot where the dark haired man was last seen. Nothing left his lips. Not a small half-hearted chuckle, a sigh, a gasp or even a single syllable.

In other words, Doflamingo were simply speechless.

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Elegant and pleasant. Those were Doflamingo's first impression when he first stepped into the suit.

Everything was furnished with a traditional yet trendy deco style, accented by rich fabric and design. The sophisticated beige damask pattern wallpaper that incorporates floral trail entangled with profiles of ladies on the light brown background was definitely an eye catcher. Rusty color carpet spread across floor—wall to wall—and the crystal chandelier and scones highlighted the grace and beauty of the inside of the suit. The vintage orange sunset curtain that hung at the window added balance and warmth to the room, tempering the bright light that came from outside.

It was almost as if sunset was crammed in the room and it gave out this cozy atmosphere even on a foggy day.

With a satisfied smile, the blonde padded his way to the adjacent room which was the bedroom.

Similar to the sitting room, the bedroom was not any less magnificent. It was big—big enough to have another queen sized bed tucked against the wall to accompany the king size bed. A touch of vintage was yet again introduced in the room, but this time the theme color was two shades lighter to create the tranquil retreat for the occupants. Each bed was complimented with tufted bench, upholstered in smokey linen and Doflamingo had chosen that particular furniture to place his luggage. Tucked at the far end corner was a single seated sofa that matched the color of the duvet and headboards, while sitting comfortably next to it was an antique pier table, adding exoticism to the room.

From the bench, the tycoon then walked over to the queen sized bed located at the far side of the room. Usually, this type of room only came with one king sized bed but costumer could request for additional bed and it seemed that Mihawk had done exactly. And speaking of additional bed… Doflamingo could not help the curiosity bubbling inside him and peered thoughtfully at the one and sole occupant of the queen sized bed.

As expected, the boy known as Mihawk's son was still in a deep slumber, covered from head to toe by the thick, dark beige duvet. Only strands of black hair peeked out from whatever opening left and the living bundle didn't as much stirred upon his arrival. How could someone sleep, not to mention breathe under that arrangement was beyond his understanding.

Too bad since Doflamingo was a tad eager to see how the boy looked like.

Shrugging, Doflamingo left the room and headed back to the sitting area. He took off the jacket of his blue sharkskin vested suit and allowed his body to fall into the soft, velvety sofa. To his right was an ornate fireplace with excellent woodwork and the blond had the urge to lit it up despite they were in the middle of summer season. But he didn't, for now. Instead he stretched out his long legs and leaned his head further back into the cushion. Earlier, Lucci had mention that a room service will be sent to clean and change whatever necessary, especially the bed that was previously occupied by Mihawk.

Hand reached towards the table before him, the blond picked up one of the scattered books before flipping the pages. The front page first came into view and the letters that stood out the most was the name of Mihawk's youngest boy.

_'Luffy.'_

How simple… He was under impression that the persecutor's son would at least have a dramatic name similar to his father… or even to this room.

Doflamingo again peered at his watch. It was seven thirty-five which means that there's still two hours left before he headed off to the meeting. Not in the mood to loiter elsewhere, the blond took out his cellphone to check for any unread messages. The first two scrolls was filled with his son's protest messages, written in a very _colorful _language, but the company president decided to ignore them for the time being. Next came some updates from the managing director as well as head of departments—

"Dad..?"

The blond tore his eyes away from his phone almost instantly and looked up. _So the worst has finally decided to make an appearance…_

Stood just beyond the bedroom entrance was none other than the fifteen year old pajama wearing boy. Clutched in his right hand was the duvet which he had dragged from the bed. From where he sat, Doflamingo could tell the boy possessed quite a petite frame unlike his father. He probably a couple inches shorter than an average fifteen year old boy but the man believed he still had a lot of room for further growth. His jet black hair was short and untamed—most of them stuck out in different directions.

It has been more than five seconds and the boy named Luffy was still staring at him. The blond waited in anticipation for the teen's next reaction. Will there be any blood-curdling scream? Or teeth stuttering gasp? Or even a chair thrown straight into him? _If the upcoming performance should take place as described by Mihawk, then this should be interesting… _

But none of them came around.

Instead, the boy rubbed his half lidded eyes and yawned. "It's still too early… why do you have to go to the conference so early…?" As the boy mumbled sleepily, Luffy padded across the room and by any means, closer to where Doflamingo was. Something suddenly clicked inside the blonds' head.

Luffy at that moment was still half asleep and unaware of the oddity inside the room.

The man early hypothesis was further supported when the teen climbed onto the sofa before plopping down; his head was right on Doflamingo's lap. The teen curled to his side, covering himself with the thick duvet he had brought and slightly nuzzled into the blonds' thigh.

Speechless with an overly large trace of amusement, the tycoon didn't make any sudden move or remark. He had expected at least a gasp but this—this, was truly not in the list. The blond just sat there and stared at the dark head as Luffy seemed to be trying to get back to his slumber land. But the boy's journey didn't get too far and Doflamingo knew that once he noticed the small frown marring his face. His mind has begun to collect its bits and pieces together and it was then Luffy noticed that something was amiss.

From the frown, Luffy then took a quick sniff to identify the lingering fragrance of his cologne. Next, with his face still obscured by the blanket, the teens' hand did a tentative patting along Doflamingo's thigh before he pinched the pants in between his fingers. It was a wool and cashmere blend and the boy made an audible gulp.

This was not his father's. His father usually favored a hundred percent wool as his clothing material.

It was obvious that the teen was awake with hundred percent of dreaded awareness. It should be any moment now...

With a sudden backward heave, Luffy made a frog leap and continued to rear away from Doflamingo until his back pressed firmly against the armrest. By the time he reached there, his dark brown eyes were enlarged to an impossible fraction as he stared at the tall blond man before him. Apart from the amused smirk pulling the corner of his lips, Doflamingo didn't make any unnecessary movement and returned the boys' stare with yet another stare, watching closely while Luffy opened and closed his mouth without any actual syllable coming out from it.

The blond began to make a mental count.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

And the play began.

"You're really _BLONDE!_" Was the first three words shouted by Luffy. That came out quite unexpected for Doflamingo.

"Actually my hair isn't always this blonde. More like a sandy blond. But it was bleached quite badly during the last time I went to the beach." As he nonchalantly answered the boys' cry, Doflamingo pinched some of his platinum blond strands and rolled them in between his fingers.

"And you're freaking huge!" The boy continued with his outburst. That only increased Doflamingo's level of amusement. _This boy really has an odd way of panicking._

This time around, Luffy didn't wait for any respond from the tycoon and quickly jumped off the sofa. That abrupt motion backstabbed him when the he tripped over the duvet midair and ended up face planting into the carpeted floor with a loud 'thud'.

"Ouch…" Still, the pain assaulting his forehead didn't stop Luffy from dashing like a track and field athlete towards the far end corner of the room. Doflamingo was half expecting for the boy to jump through the window if his panic level was off chart. Luckily, he didn't. Instead, Luffy preferred to stick with the idea of panicking around like a cornered small animal.

"You!" Luffy pointed at the man sitting contently on the sofa and barred his teeth. Fortunately enough, his attempt to look fierce was dampened by the puppy printed blue pajama he was wearing and the slightly dishelmed hair that made him looked more like five year old who had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

"I don't know who you are or how did you get into this room but I'll let you know that I practice mixed martial arts! My dad made me promise to never _ever ever ever_ use it to kick anyone asses but I'm still going to kick you into the next island. Just because you're freaking huge doesn't mean that I can't take you down and—"

While the boy went on with his plan to break his bones to million pieces, Doflamingo shook his head in hilarity. As much as he wished to hear more of the boys' rants, this really starting to get out of hand.

"Polly wanna cracker."

In instant, Luffy closed his mouth shut and frowned in confusion at what the blond had just said. "… What?"

Doflamingo was slightly amazed. _Mihawk wasn't kidding after all. It did work._ "I think you should call your father, boy."

"Call dad…? What are you—"

"Call him." The tone left the blonds' lips was firm and left no room for any argument. Indeed, this was the type of tone he usually utilized when his own son began throwing extraordinary tantrum and he was glad it worked well against Luffy. Temperament or no temperament, the teen was still a child after all.

For the first ten seconds, Luffy was all defiant and stood on his ground. But the quick stern look on Doflamingo's face was enough to send the teen running back into the bedroom. He came out almost immediately and went back to his earlier position—back into the corner. Now equipped with cellphone, Luffy tapped his finger on the first name listed on his speed dial and brought it close to his ear.

On the third ring, the call was answered but Luffy didn't offer even a millimeter space for the receiver to speak as the boy bombarded the other with questions, questions and more questions.

"Dad, dad, dad, dad! Where are you?! There's an extremely huge blond guy in our room and he scares me and I know he's not your friend! Can I punch him?! I can, right?! I know I _MUST_ punch him until he pass out because right now he's probably planning kidnap me and use me as a hostage in one of his evil plot! See, I told you shouldn't have become the city attorney because every criminal in the world is now aiming at us! You should have stick with your old law firm or become a jazz singer instead—"

Suddenly, Luffy was out of breathe probably because he had delivered his life and death speech just now in mere five seconds non-stop. Not to mention, the boy was practically shouting all the way through. And the one at the other end of the line must have used that particular tranquil moment to speak since Luffy was seen frowning after words of explanation slowly registered into his head.

On Doflamingo's end however, the blond cradled his face and bit his lower lip to prevent himself from laughing hysterically. To him, the boy's outburst just now was downright comical and yet so pure and innocent.

"What?!" Another shout came in and Doflamingo saw Luffy was looking at his direction with an overly scandalized expression. "What do you mean you're leaving?!" One minute of silence and the teen was back with his fit. "No! No, I don't care what the reason is, dad! I want you to come back here right now! Right this instant! No, I don't care if you've already left the car park. I want you to be here now! Now! Now! Now! And if you don't, I'm going to break every chandelier and every vase in this hotel and you have to pay for everything!"

Just like that, Luffy ended the heated phone call by tapping the red phone symbol on his phone. He crossed his arms over his chest and shot a warning glare towards the blond man.

"Oh, he will come." The raven haired teen was confident in delivering his remark. "I know he will."

An absurd starring contest ensued between the man and the boy, but it only lasted for a minute or so. On the second minute, Doflamingo was the one to break the eye contact and let a deep chuckle reverberated from his chest. That managed to drag an annoyed huff from Luffy since the teen disliked the idea of being laughed at. But he refused to make any angry remark, fully aware that it would only give the satisfaction to Doflamingo. His dark orbs followed closely on every move the blond made—from shifting his large body into a more comfortable position on the sofa to his action of attending his phone.

Take it from him, it pissed Luffy more than ever when the man seemed to ignore him and act as though nothing in this room was out of place.

Whilst the teen kept him under intense observation, Dolfamingo settled on reading his sons' dozen of instant messages. For some weird reason, the boy had refused to make a phone call and preferred to flood messages instead.

**1st unread message:** _I'm at home right now for summer break._ _Where are you?! _

**2nd unread message:** _Trebor is being all overly touchy again. So I had the dog to bite his hand. He had fractured fingers so he won't be able to do your shitty paperwork. Tough luck._

Doflamingo pinched the bridge of his nose. Of all people in this world, why did his son decide to cause harm to those he consider as family, not to mention they who hold the position head of department.

**3rd unread message:** _I threw the new painting in the entrance hall and replaced it with a painting of polar bear and snow leopard._

**4th unread message:** _Fucking Vergo had my favorite brain splat ball glued on his cheek! Tell him to give it back to me!_

**5th unread message:** _Seriously, where are you?!_

**6th unread message:** _I rammed into the side your damn new car while I was reversing mine. The door was busted though. Not my fault. That's my parking spot._

By the time he reached the sixth messages, the tycoon was already messaging his forehead as he could feel the telltale of upcoming migraine. There were still at least ten unread messages left and if he were to go through all of them, Doflamingo knew his heart won't be able to handle the pressure.

"This kid is going to be the death of me…" The blond mumbled as rubbed his forehead to sooth the throbbing. His fingers halted every movement when he heard knocking coming from the front door.

"He's here!" Luffy declared before running towards the door, skipping a step or two as he did so. First, the sound of the door being unlocked was heard. Soon after, the heavy footfall came in coupled with a distressed groan and Luffy's childlike complains.

"Luffy, I do not have time for this!" Less than five seconds later, Mihawk was seen dragged by the arm while Luffy continued to pull the man with him and only stopped when they were four feet away from Doflamingo.

Once the father-and-son duo stood in front of the blond, Luffy pointed at him. "Dad! What is 'that' doing here?!"

"Luffy!" Hissed the father of three as he pushed his son's hand down from pointing at Doflamingo. "I have told you many times not to point at people. It is rude. And do not refer another person as 'that'!"

"But daaaddd—"

Mihawk cut the boy from giving away another frustrated whine. "I have told you the circumstances earlier on the phone. This arrangement is the best solution I can think of at the moment—"

"But you can't just leave me with him! Might as well leave me at the orphanage!" As he pulled and tugged his father's sleeve, Luffy made this quick-feet motion as though he was standing on mayonnaise slathered floor. "I don't like him. How can you even trust him?! What if he's in short of human organs supplies and wants to have mine?"

Towering above the fifteen year old, Mihawk mouthed 'I am really sorry' towards Doflamingo's direction before frowning at his son's incredulous remark. "Stop speaking nonsense. I swear you have the wildest imagination…" The prosecutor trailed and tugged his sleeved back from Luffy's grip. He then picked the duvet that was kicked by Luffy earlier from the floor and swiftly made his way towards the bedroom.

Unsatisfied with his father's respond, the teen huffed and sat on the sofa in front of Doflamingo. "This is not fair!" His childlike voice was now increased in term of volume and Luffy purposely did it to gain Mihawk's attention. "You dragged me from home because you didn't want to leave me, but now you are having a total stranger to look after me!"

Two seconds later, Mihawk immerged back from the bedroom but didn't make any indication to move from the entrance. Frustration was clearly etched on his face as he was having a huge difficulty to make his son to understand this whole ordeal. "For the last time Luffy, I am not leaving you here for the purpose of having Mr. Donquixote to look after you."

The man went back into the bedroom and Doflamingo was under impression that the raven haired man was currently inside the bathroom, looking for something from the cabinet.

"God, I know I should have stayed and locked myself in the cellar so you wouldn't get to me!" Luffy laid down on the sofa and kicked the armrest repeatedly to express his dissatisfaction. "Why can't I just stay at home?"

"Because," This time around, Mihawks left the bedroom for good. But instead of going over to his fidgeting son, the pale man headed to the bar counters and began filling water into a clear tall glass. "The last time I left you only for a day, you were found lying in your own pool of blood. The washing machine was blown up, the fridge was empty and the microwave was on fire. If I was to arrive later by one minute, I would have lost one son and left with only two. What should I tell your brothers?"

With his right hand a glass of water and left hand with a couple of pills, the prosecutor walked over to the sofa and motioned for Luffy to sit. "What should I tell your mother?" Bending down, Mihawks saw the boy pouted and quickly slipped the pills as soon as the teen opened his mouth.

"Umm—ummppp—upphhmmm!" Luffy mumbled around the pills before drinking the water and letting the cool liquid to wash them down.

Luffy wiped the corner of his lips and frowned heavily at his father. "That was just a nosebleed, dad."

"A very massive nosebleed may I remind you." Sighing softly, Mihawk placed the half empty glass on the coffee table. "I need to go now, Luffy or else I am going to be late."

Before the man had the chance to reach for his briefcase, Luffy again pulled his arm, refusing to let go. It seemed that the boy wasn't going to let go of the matter any time sooner unless he was on the winning side.

"You don't have problem before leaving me at home for your trips!" The fifteen year old again stated another fact to challenge his father decision.

Three sets of exasperated sighs rang throughout the room.

"That is because Ace and Sabo were with you! They have always kept you safe. Now that they are in college, there is no one in the house to assist me in watching over you." Mihawk cupped the boy's head with his palms and gave a deadpan look. "You must accept the fact that you are clumsy and destructive. If I must leave you with your own devices, then I might as well leave you in a tiger den because the consequences are still similar."

"I'm not clumsy and—"

As if on cue, to phone that Luffy has been holding on all this time slipped from his hand and flew away unceremoniously before hitting the cushion just beside Doflamingo. One more inch and it would have hit the blond right in the shoulder. They stared at the unmoving device for a solid five seconds before the blond together with Mihawk fixed their stare at the fidgeting boy.

"My palm was slippery because I was sweating!" The self-assurance exclamation came in a little too fast that Luffy almost bit his tongue. Quick, he needed to think of another agenda to delay his father's departure! If he's lucky enough, his father would miss the conference and cancel this whole stupid trip and returned to their home.

"Why is Ace and Sabo still hanging out in college? The summer holiday started last week! Can't you call them to return home right this instant? Then I can go back home on my own and stay with them…"

"Ace failed one of his papers and has to retake the exam this week, Luffy. And no, I will not allow you to stay at his dormitory and bother with his study." For the last few minutes, Mihawk has been trying to pry his son's hand away from latching on him but to no avail. If there's anything worse, the grip on his coat was getting stronger and firmer by passing minutes.

Luffy ignored his father attempt to unwind his fingers and began to tug the black coat further into his direction in every intention to make the man to sit down.

"God, Ace sucks! How can he even flunk that paper?! I thought he was supposed to ace every subject!" The boy paused and made a disgusted face. "Did I just make a pun out of his name? Eeewww!"

As he let his head to fall backward, Mihawk raked his fingers through his raven locks and sighed heavily. This appeared to be the man's favorite motion since the moment he stepped into the room.

"Do not speak about your brother like that. Ace is not any less smart. His narcolepsy attack suddenly came around during his paper."

On the sofa, the fifteen year old grunted when he was still unable to make his father to sit down. But on the other hand, he was content at his successful attempt in dampening his father effort to leave. "Then why does Sabo have to stay too? He didn't flunk any subject!"

"I need Sabo to be there to keep an eye on Ace." Mihawk reasoned. After having a tug of war with his youngest son for minutes, the prosecutor finally admitted defeat and sat on the sofa next to Luffy. "Just like you, Ace somehow can transform into a mischievous machine when no one around is watching over him."

"Sabo sucks too! I can't believe he agreed—"

Finger pressed softly against Luffy's lips, Mihawk gave the boy a mild warning look. "Sabo is the most reliable and mature among the three of you. He always does me an immense favor in keeping you two in line. If he is not around, I may have to give up my career as a lawyer and become a jazz singer as you had suggested earlier."

Beneath his finger's, the boy's mouth formed into a rather deep pout. Mihawk knew by now that his arrival at Acacia would be delayed and the chance for him to miss a small part of the conference is higher than any mountain. There was no end to this conversation, especially when the other end was a persistent child to the core and would do anything to gain victory even if it meant giving away absurd statement such as…

"What if I suddenly want to cuddle with you at night? If you leave, I won't have anyone to cuddle with and I don't want to cuddle with him!" Even after being scolded by Mihawk just now, Luffy still ignored his father's warn and pointed his finger at Doflamingo's direction.

Incredulity was reflected in Mihawk's hazel eyes. Even the size of the orbs was slightly larger than their usual proportion. "Luffy, you do not cuddle. You only tackle people down." The man deadpanned.

"Of course I cuddle!" To prove his point, Luffy looped his arms around his father's mid-section and gave a bone crushing squeeze. "See? I know how to cuddle."

"Luffy," The man's voice was a bit too strained for anyone not to notice. "Your father can not breathe here…"

Shoulder sagged, the teen released his father and leaned his back against the armrest while his feet kneading Mihawk's thigh. "What am I going to do for the whole week…? At least if you're here, I can drag you all over the town but now I'm stuck here alone and have nothing else to do!"

"That is why I told you to bring your homework." Mihawk nodded at the scattered books on the table. "At least have half of your homework done before we return."

"Homework!" The teen groaned and glared at the books as though they were his long life enemy. "My summer break started just last week! I still have plenty of time to get them done!"

Mihawk squeezed the feet currently kneading him gently. "And you also have the habit of not doing anything productive until the very last minute. In the end, it is your brothers who have to help you with your homework. How long are you going to depend on them?"

"There are my big brothers. Of course they have to help me. It's their job, Sabo said so." Luffy stated a matter-of-factly.

"Sabo is spoiling you too much…" The father of three muttered as he watched his son picked up the throw pillow from floor and hugged it close to his chest.

Behind the pillow, Luffy mumbled in a normal boy would but loud enough for Mihawk to hear. "I'm the youngest. Of course I need to be spoiled."

"Luffy…" It was obvious Mihawk was willing himself to be patient. "You HAVE to get your homework done within these two weeks… Because next month is when you are going to have—" Then the man stopped himself, unable to continue his sentence.

"—The bone marrow transplant?" Luffy assisted his father, noticing how the man visibly twitched.

"Yes, that."

"It's just a transplant, daaadddd!" Even with his head fall back into the cushion, the fifteen year old kept his attention close Mihawk, eyeing the man intensely. "It's not like the doctor going to chop my arms off. I still can finish my homework after everything is done."

For the first time in many years, Mihawk was speechless and unable to respond his youngest son. His line of work had trained him to be an eloquent speaker, confident even, but at that moment, nothing seemed to come out from his mouth. What left was the hard, dry lump in the back of his throat made by the uneasy feeling coiling around his heart. Instead of providing facts and logics, the prosecutor fixed his stare at the invisible spot on the floor and refused to make an eye contact with the teen.

And Luffy chose that exact moment to be observant.

"What's wrong…?" Luffy pulled himself up and shuffled closer. His head was tilted to the side as he tried to catch a glimpse of his father's face. It was then the boy noticed the familiar expression playing across his features.

"Dad…" In need to get his father's attention, the teen pinched the sleeve of the black coat and tugged it slightly. "I really am _GOING_ to have the transplant, right?"

Eyes still remained on the floor, Mihawks answered briefly. "Of course you are."

"Then why are you making that weird face again?"

"I do not make weird face." Mihawks answered a little bit too fast and turned to face his son. However, his emotion betrayed whatever denials he had attempted or even going to.

"Yes you do!" Persistent as he was, the boy pressed further, gripping the front of his father's coat to have a better look at him. No, he didn't care less if he was being acting a lot less than a fifteen-year old should have even in the presence of non-family member. "You always make that face whenever we start talking about it. Why? Is there something else you're hiding—"

In a swift movement, Mihawks pried the hands clinging on his coat and stood up. "I am going to be late. I need to go now."

But his journey barely lasted two seconds before Luffy looped his arms around the man's midsection, refusing to let go. "No! You're not running away again. Not this time!"

"Just when did I run—"

"You always do!" Luffy glared at Mihawk as if to challenge his father. "Every time Ace and I talked about the procedure, you always ran to do something. Laundry to fold, dish to wash, cats to feed and—and they're not even our cats! It's almost like you don't even want the transplant in the first place."

At what he considered as accusation, the raven haired man frowned. "That is not—"

"Say '_Bone Marrow Transplant'_." Determined dark brown bore into the hazel ones as Luffy's intense gaze pinned his father in place. "I dare you to say it."

Mihawk didn't. Even after a minute of nerve wrecking silence, the man still didn't say anything that could aid him in this sticky situation. Torn, his eyes were a closed shut for a moment or two before the man softly murmured, "I need to go."

To anyone's surprise, Luffy released his firm hold without saying anything that sounded like an argument. No, not even a whine passed through the thin lips. He still however, locked his eyes with his father's when Mihawk patted his shoulder gently and murmured 'I will call you later' or something akin to it. The dark haired man nodded his head at Doflamingo to signal his departure and headed to the door.

Ten steps from reaching the entrance and Luffy finally open his mouth.

"I'm going to die." Unlike before where his words only took forms of a shout, whine or displeased moan, this time around, they were much softer—soft enough that one needed to strain their ears to catch every syllable.

Six feet away, Doflamingo felt his fingers twitched, but quickly regained his composure and acted as if the boy's words hadn't reached his ears. This probably one of those many moments that the blond was thankful that he had his shades perched on his nose. Had it been otherwise, the father-and-son duo would have noticed how his eyes currently fixated on the boy despite he had his head lowered down slightly as though his attention was still with his phone. It intrigued him, Luffy's words just now that is—whether they were just one of the boys' childish threat, fiction or in the worse case scenario, the truth.

"If I don't get the transplant done within a year, I'll die." Luffy continued further and watched how his words affected his father greatly. Mihawks stopped dead on his track. His body had turned rigid and unmoving. It was hard to even tell if the man was breathing that time.

"Don't you want me to get better…?" His voice was barely above whisper. Upset aside, it sounded meek enough for anyone to have a difficult time in believing that this was the very same boy who has fought tooth and nails with his father earlier.

Just when disappointment starting to crawl from the depth of his belly, Mihawk suddenly dropped his briefcase, spun on his heels and walked back towards his son. Anxious with a small portion of relieved, Luffy had expected at least for a disproval small frown coming from his father. What he didn't expect was for the man to wrap his hand around his wrist and gently tugged his arm.

"Come with me. I need to speak with you." Mihawks said softly and beckoning his son to follow along.

In confusion, Luffy stood up and allowed his father to lead him by the arm. With his youngest son in tow, Mihawk paced across the room only to enter the bedroom, ignoring the curious impression Doflamingo was emitting. He would have to apologize to the blond later for displaying not-so-comfortable show just now. For now, he needed to speak with Luffy in private.

Perhaps, his fifteen year was right after all. Perhaps, in reality, he was avoiding the subject instead of facing it together with his sons.

Once inside the room, Mihawk gestured the boy to sit on the bed next to him. Luffy had no problem complying it and hopped on, sitting Indian-style and facing him. The mattress dipped under their combined weight and the man heaved a deep sigh.

"Of course I want you to get better, Luffy." The prosecutor started, turning to the side and gave his son a desperate, torn look. "What kind of father would I be if I do not wish that? For you to be healthy again and enjoy life like everyone else?"

Luffy hopped again and by any means, closer to his father. "Then why do you look like you're not looking forward to it?"

"How could I?" The raven haired man asked. "You are going to have a bone marrow transplant, Luffy. Not having an appointment to the dentist. With dentist, the worst pain you will be experience is only when having your tooth pulled out and that only lasted for a couple of days." Mihawk swallowed bitterly as he closed his eyes. "But this—the transplant… it is not the same."

"Dad, if you're worried about the huge needle, I'm not the one who's going to get it. Ace is the one who's going to have a needle stuck into his butt." Luffy tried to pass it as a humor to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

But it was nowhere close since the frown was still there. Worse, it got deepened. "I am aware of the procedure of how they are going to obtain the bone marrow from Ace. And for the last time, Luffy, it is the pelvic bone." Mihawks then shook his head lightly. "Anyway, I am less worried about Ace because he will be going through procedures that are less complicated with risks that are probably not more than two percent."

"But you Luffy," The man placed his hand on Luffy's right shoulder to pull the boy closer. "I am worried about you."

"But dad—"

"Do you remember the procedures and stages?" Mihawk leaned down slightly so that they were on the same eye level.

Luffy nodded.

"All of them?"

Another bob.

"Then surely you are aware of the amount of time consumed for all the procedures to take place." The dark haired man moved back but otherwise, still keeping his hand on Luffy's shoulder. "The conditioning itself takes days or even a week and it is not a process similar to when you had your monthly blood sample taken." Mihawk's thumb brushed the skin of his son's mid-arm where the familiar venipuncture site located.

Under naked eyes, nothing seemed to be out of place. But if anyone squint their eyes hard enough, they would surely notice the faint needle marks marring the slightly tanned skin. Due to Luffy's health condition, it was expected for him to have a blood test once in every few months in order to monitor the teens' red and white blood cells as well the as platelets. However, since half a year ago, the frequency of the test has been increased to once a month and sometimes even twice a month.

The reason for the regularity was straightforward. Luffy's health has begun to deteriorate.

From his father, Luffy's let his gaze to wander at the spot Mihawks has been grazing with his thumb over and over again. His memory went back to years ago when he was still a child—still could be easily cradled in his father's arms. Back then, whenever they made the regular visit to the hospital for blood test, he would cry on Mihawk's shoulder and refused to enter the exam room where needles and more needles were waiting for him. He disliked them. A lot.

In the end, after an intense coaxing from his father and words of encouragement from both Ace and Sabo, it was only then he finally entered the room but not without series of hiccupping and sniffling along the way.

Unconsciously, Luffy let a small, bitter smile to pull the corner of his lips. He was diagnosed with the illness only days after he was born and from that moment until now, he has caused too much problem for people he cared the most. And Luffy wanted nothing more but to end it.

"I know…" After a long hiatus, Luffy spoke softly. "There'll be chemotherapy going on as part of my conditioning."

"Exactly." Mihawks felt his son's hand squeezing his fingers gently, well aware of the discomfort feeling Luffy was currently experiencing. "And during that week of conditioning, you would be probably bed ridden, feel nausea and tired all the time as those are the common side effects of chemotherapy. Even after you have received the transplant, the engraftment would only occur a month later and throughout that time, you would be unwell and—and not you!"

Luffy didn't respond, even after Mihawk cradled his face with his palm.

"It may take months for your bone marrow to finally able to produce blood cells after the transplant and a year for your immune system to return to full strength. For months you will be very weak." The man let out a shaky breath and continued. "I could barely endure the painful and helpless feeling everytime you came down with a fever that hardly lasted for two days. My initial plan was to have you undergo the transplant when you are at least in your twenties, not now."

Alarmed, Luffy felt his heart palpated. "We can't wait that long, dad… Right now, my body can barely hold on. I won't make it till twenty."

"I know, I know. But at this moment I am not certain if I have enough courage and strength to witness you in that miserable state that is going to last for months. It is too soon, Luffy." Shoulders sagged, Mihawk finally disclosed his true fear that he has been hiding from his sons. "And I am certainly not ready to witness where tubes after tubes are going to be injected into the vein near your heart—"

Just like that, Mihawk stopped talking as though he was on the verge of throwing up. He swallowed hard a couple of times and finally lifted his head up, letting his hand that was used to cradle his face fall into his laps.

"Now you know the real reason for me _NOT_ to look forward into it. All of them are just too painful—"

"But then I'll get better!" Luffy beat his father's words. The teen grabbed Mihawk's arm gently as if to give reassurance to the man. "I will really get better, dad. I know I'll be going through shitty moments for months but then I'll get better! I don't need to take pills everyday, or having to worry about passing out in the middle of P.E or the stupid massive nosebleed! And—and I can do anything I want when I get better!"

Pulling his father closer by the arm, the boy shook his father slightly. "Do you remember the 'list', dad?"

"I do." Mihawk answered briefly.

"I'm going to do everything in that 'list' and I'm going to beat Ace and Sabo. You'll see." With confidence, Luffy uttered the promise with expression brimming with life as though he wasn't born sick to begin with.

When the teen saw his father still wearing the tense expression, Luffy tugged the front of Mihawk's coat to have the man to look at him in the eye.

"I can do this, dad. The procedures, the chemotherapy, the tubes… All of them." Luffy took Mihawk's hand into his and squeezed it. "I know I can. But I have to make sure that you're with me. I know Sabo and Ace are already with me, now it's your turn."

"Luffy, I—"

"Please, dad." Desperation was clearly heavy in the boy's voice. "I won't feel the pain at all if I know that all three of you are with me."

"… Really?"

Clad with confidence that was higher than any mountain, Luffy bounced on the bed and laughed slightly. "Of course! It's just like that time when I fractured my wrist. At first, I didn't even realize something was wrong with my hand. But when you suddenly made that weird face and asked me _'does it hurt anywhere?', _then suddenly it hurt like hell!"

"I certainly was not aware that expression and words could inflict physical pain." The father chuckled softly as he watched Luffy's nimbly fingers picked on the cuff of his sleeves and didn't make any comment on his son's newfound habit.

"I know I'm right." Huffed the fifteen year-old boy. "But really, I'll be fine, dad. As long as you and everyone else don't make the kind of face like I'm really in pain, then I can get through my treatment just alright. No frowning, no asking 'does it hurt?' and definitely no sad faces!"

Luffy stopped picking on the cuff and looked up, giving Mihawk a hopeful gaze. "You're with me, right?"

Arm draped over the petite frame, the raven haired man pulled Luffy closer and let the teen's head to rest on his shoulder. "No matter what happens, you ought to realize that your dad will always be with you. Always. Although for the time being…" As his rubbed Luffy's arm up and down, Mihawk felt his son nuzzled slightly into the crook of his neck. "I may need to learn from your brothers so I can handle my emotions better as well as making un-sad faces."

"You better be." Luffy hummed softly.

Enjoying the pleasant warmth as well as his father reassuring scent, Luffy pressed closer against Mihawk until the wild dark strands tickled the man's chin. The look on his son's was too peaceful that the prosecutor didn't have enough heart to disturb that tranquil moment. Ever since his term as the city attorney started half a year ago, the raven haired man has been running left and right, here and there. Too many criminals to be charged, civil claims to handle as well as legal counsel for city departments. He missed it—those times where his two older sons had yet to enter college and he was still your everyday kind of lawyer who managed to perform his duty admirably and still be there as a father for his three sons.

Now, the circumstances have changed. Significance it might seem, but it still gave a big impact on their lives. Ace and Sabo were now in college and he has been appointed as the city attorney. The time spent was reduced rather notably. Still, Mihawk wanted to there for his sons as much as the situation allowed, especially for the youngest whose health has been deteriorating since his appointment as the city attorney.

Then again, this was one of those times where he was forced to leave Luffy, even only for a while. And it pained him.

"I am aware that my actual arrival would be far behind from what I had scheduled." Mihawks murmured into Luffy's dark strands. "So I really need to leave now, Luffy."

Mihawk felt his son shifted before a low whine made itself apparent. "You're still going to that stupid conference?"

"It is not stupid… Although the concept of the conference itself may be a bit silly. So yes, I am still going to attend."

After exhaling a deep, defeated sigh, Luffy peeled away from his father with sagged shoulders. "Does it mean that I'm still going to stay here…?"

"Yes. I am truly sorry about all of this." Mihawk tucked the boy's long, side bangs behind his ears as he watched a deep pout pulling Luffy's lips together. He felt his own face fell at the disappointed frown outlining his son's forehead. "I will make it up for you once we return to Sebio. I promise."

"Okay…"

Not an enthusiastic answer but that alone was enough to satisfy the father. A soft pushed into the mattress and Mihawk stood up, straightening his long coat as he did so. The front buttons of his coat had long been undone and the man felt no desire to fix them back—all six of them. He held out his hand to provide more leverage for Luffy to stand and once the teen grabbed his hand, Mihawk dug his heels more into the carpeted floor and gently pulled his son off the bed.

Outside in the sitting area where Doflamingo was left, the blond man now had both of his feet prompted on the table in front of him. He heard the telltale of the incoming father-and-son duo, judging by the shuffling and the soft murmurs exchanged between them. Through the corner of his blue eyes, he saw them stopped just by the entrance of the bedroom where Mihawk was seen raking his slim fingers gently through his son's black lock before bending down slightly and placed a soft kiss, just in between the boy's hairline and forehead.

For seconds, the president was a bit… dumbfounded. Yes, that's correct. About half an hour ago when he first learned about Mihawk's position, it was only natural for him to expect the raven haired man to act more like a… well, an attorney that represent the state of course. An eloquent speaker who provides facts and common sense, a person who carries himself with such calmness and confident demeanor and certainly someone who is able to mask his emotions skillfully and replaced them with a stoic expression instead.

But definitely not this. Never in his life would have believed that someone who held the title of the city attorney would display such uncharacteristic affection towards his child, not bothering to mask it even in the presence of other people.

"I love you so very much…" Mihawk murmured into the dark strands as he tucked Luffy's head under his chin.

Said boy closed his eyes and grinned, purring a bit when his father's finger scrapped along his scalp. "Ace and Sabo?" Luffy's voice was muffled by the collar of Mihawk's coat.

"Them too. All three of you." When his son looked up, Mihawk gave the boy a meaningful look. "But your mischievous often makes me worry."

Luffy pouted. "You make it sound like I'm a cat."

Chuckling, Mihawk turned around and slowly walked towards the sofa. "If such thing as reincarnation exists, it certainly does not surprise me if you are reborn as a kitten. A black, mischievous kitten with zero fear."

One moment Luffy just stood there sulking and the next moment the boy was already on his feet and chased after his father.

"Then you'd be a hawk, right? Because your eyes are so sharp and scary!"

The man ignored the last remark for the time being and murmured, "If it is anything, I would rather be reborn as something that could protect the three of you."

"You could still protect us if you're a hawk." Luffy grabbed his father's arm when the man closing in to Doflamingo as if to prevent Mihawk from talking with the blond.

Too late. Before the boy realized it, they were already standing before Doflamingo much to his dismay. In return, the blond lifted his head to acknowledge their presence and Luffy ignored the blond amused smirk.

"Luffy, hawk does not and will never protect kittens. It sees them as prays and eats them." Mihawks stated as-matter-of-factly while his child clung on his arm desperately trying to gain his attention.

"You won't eat us. I just know it." Luffy pulled and tugged his father's arm but huffed afterward when Mihawk only responded him with a small, defeated headshake.

"I do hope that I can really leave this time for good." Mihawk said to the blond with a weary tone. Just when he thought that his son wouldn't cause anymore inconvenience for Doflamingo, his hazel eyes swiftly noticed the deep glare Luffy was throwing at the tycoon.

"Luffy."

Said boy twitched at the mild warning given by Mihawk and swiftly hugged the man before hiding his face deep into the lapel of his coat. Even though Luffy was acting a LOT less like a fifteen year old and more like a ten, the childish antic still managed to tug the corner of the blonds' lips into a small smile.

Mihawk only stared at the dark head buried into his chest before shaking his head. "Anyway, I—"

"He's going to be reborn as a giant flamingo and a king in some kind of bird kingdom."

Together, the adults stared at the dark head nestling firmly against Mihawk's chest. Although muffled by the coat, Luffy's words just now rang so lucid inside the room—lucid enough for Doflamingo to bite his lower lip in hilarity and Mihawk to have his eyes almost popped out from their sockets. However, Luffy must have been under impression that his words didn't reach anyone else ears as the boy didn't make even a slightest guilt filled gesture. Worse, the teen was amused with the idea himself that his father could feel a deep laugh vibrated from Luffy's chest.

As he practiced his yoga breathing technique, the prosecutor closed his eyes for a while before opening them. "How many times have I apologized to you just for today?"

"Three including the one you're about to." Grinned the blond while he watched the other exhaled a deep sigh.

"Hmm… There are times where I would wonder to what kind of sins I had committed in the past for me to be granted with children as uncooperative as this."

"I do that a lot too." Doflamingo removed his feet from the table. "My son used to tell me that in my past life, I might be a cold-blooded pirate that terrorized his life. Surprisingly enough, I've never disagreed with him on that."

Mihawk didn't really have an answer to that. "I see… Then I shall take my leave once again and I hope you will have a pleasant meeting."

For a quick second, the blonde could have sworn he heard a sarcastic note lingering at the end of sentence. _Of course… He ought to be late for his own conference meeting afterall. _

While he watched Mihawk practically dragged his feet across the room with a human bundle still clinging on him, his mind drifted—back to where his home was. Or to be exact, his mansion. But it didn't stop there. It lingered deeper, much deeper into the mansion before zeroing on an nineteen-year old occupant who most definitely in the middle of venting and sulking inside his own room at that moment.

Nineteen years the boy has entered his life and yet, Doflamingo still had a hard time comprehending his son's nature. When drifted apart, the boy would demand his attention, flooding his phone with messages and calling him whenever he saw fit even the time was highly inconvenience for the blond. Be it in the middle of meeting with the city council or two o-clocks in the morning or even in the middle of shower. Ignored him and the teen would retaliate in a most fashionable way. Something ought to explode in the mansion, frogs and cockroaches suddenly came out nowhere and running wild inside the company headquarter building and receiving distressed calls from the dean of his medical school was more like a weekly event.

But when they were close enough… The boy would push him away, spitting and hissing at him as though he was a huntsman who's going to drive a wooden stick straight into the teen's heart. Everything about his son perplexed him to the point where he began to wonder if the teen was another mysterious creation from God and granted to him for his own amusement. He couldn't tell what exactly the boy needed from him or what goes inside that mysterious head. There was no consistency in his son's behavior and he would be the biggest liar if he said that he wasn't frustrated even by a tad.

In contrast with his son, Luffy was like a whole different creation. Everything about the fifteen year old was simple and easy—except for the temperament part of course. It was easy to tell what had upset the boy. It was simple to tell the teen was missing his brothers dearly. And it was definitely not hard to tell how Luffy only wished for his father to be by his side. It was uncharacteristic, gauche but downright innocent.

"What am I going to do with you…" Doflamingo murmured softly under his breath with a hopeful thought that his son could actually hear him.

"To do with whom?"

The question pierced the blonds' concentration and immediately pulled him away from his daylight stupor. Too startled with the voice, the man snapped his eyes open and couldn't stop his body from pressing against the cushion when the image of Luffy's confused face filled his vision. He had no idea of how long had he been staring into space or how long has the boy been standing there and watching him. But Doflamingo was quick to collect his thoughts and it didn't take more than five second for him to enter back to his usual laid back mode.

"Fufufufufu. Nothing, boy. So your father has left?" Doflamingo asked although he already figured out the answer himself. Luffy refused to answer him however. Instead, the teen was more content with the idea of throwing a suspicious frown towards him with hands placed firmly at both side of his hips. Before the frown could be upgraded into a glare, the phone lying next to the blond rang and cut all tension threads surrounding them.

It was Luffy's phone that was ringing obnoxiously.

Based on the ringtone, Luffy must have recognized the caller since a full wide grin suddenly split his face into half. Quickly, the boy snatched the phone and brought it close to his chest, eyeing the caller id with joyous satisfaction.

"Ya know…" The teen tore his eyes away from the phone for a split second and gave Doflamingo a knowing look. "I still think you're going to be reborn as a flamingo."

Without waiting any sort of respond from the man, Luffy walked away briskly and hopped onto the sofa right in front of Doflamingo, lying on his back and filled the whole seat with his petite frame.

"Ace!" The teen exclaimed the moment the phone touched his ear. "You're early today. Did Sabo kick you out of the bed again? Shishishishishi!"

Doflamingo raised an eyebrow at the boy's unique way of laughing. But then again, Luffy wasn't the only one who had an odd laughing trademark…

"Yeah… We've arrived yesterday evening…" A short pause followed after as Luffy stretched his legs out until the tip of his toe touched the armrest. "It's horrible! Do you want to know what dad did?! He left me Ace! Just like that, he left me and went straight to Acacia!"

The teen puffed his cheeks slightly before giving two sets of an eye roll. "Of course he didn't leave me at the side of the road. This is dad we're talking about here, not some ass-holish bastard. He left me at the hotel here in Primula and went to Acacia just now. Something about the conference was moved to the Corrida Hall… And you wanna know what's worse? He left me with a stranger here! And he's going to stay here with me for the whole week! Can you believe that?"

That moment, Luffy was aware of the amused stare Doflamingo was tossing at him but decided to ignore the man bluntly or at the fact that the conversation could be heard crystal clear. He curled to his side and face the cushion instead, giving his back to Doflamingo while the finger of his free hand poked and prodded into the soft, velvety material.

"He's super tall and extremely blonde and I don't trust him. He grins a lot too! Do you remember that cartoon movie we used to watch? There was this purple cat character that smiles a lot—yeah! The Cheshire Cat! He's the same, Ace! And he wears purple shades too! Right now, he's probably plotting something evil like taking over the whole nation and pretends to be a good king while he's the one providing weapons for other countries to initiate wars." Luffy murmured and began pulling the loose thread he had spotted on. "Yes, I know Sabo is blond too! But Sabo's different. He's a family."

"You know what? This is all your fault, Ace. If you hadn't flunked that stupid paper, you and Sabo would have been at home right now and I don't have to follow dad in the first place." The teen rolled to his other side and caught a glimpse of Doflamingo smirking at him in which Luffy responded by sticking his tongue out. "Pfft! You probably just used your narcolepsy card so dad wouldn't get mad at you…"

This time, Luffy was on his stomach. His free arm dangled over the edge and before long, his nimble fingers immediately began to pull and tugged at the carpet. "Dad was being overly worry again… we were right, Ace. This whole idea of transplant did make his skin crawl like crazy. And just now, when I forced him to spell 'bone marrow transplant', I think he almost bit his own tongue."

Suddenly, Luffy groaned and hit the floor with his palm. "Nooo! I wasn't trying to be mean or anything! I just… want him to prepare mentally and be with us when the time comes for the transplant. We talked a bit and I think he's alright now. And oooh! He's soooo going to be late for his conference! Shishishishishishi!"

Another minute or two passed with Luffy pouring his guts out, probably had something to do with the jokes his brother had made over the phone. Then, without warning, a scowl was carved deep into his forehead as the boy turned his head slightly to give a sideway glance towards Doflamingo. "Yeah, he's right here… Of course I don't care if he can hear me! At least he knows that I don't trust him—What?! Why do you want to speak with him?"

As the person at the end of the line spoke, Luffy's lips were tugged downward by a rather disgusted frown. "No, no, no. You're not going to speak with him. What if he has some kind of weird power that can control people's thought and movement?! Like a puppeteer?! An evil _evil_ puppeteer—don't laugh! Of course he can do that!"

Few more mumbles against the cushion, the teen let out a defeated groan and sat up. Shoulders sagged; Luffy finally stood up and walked over to Doflamingo sluggishly before shoving his phone right into the blonds' face, almost hitting the man in the nose.

"My brother wants to speak with you." Luffy huffed. All those rolling activities on the couch had turned his pajama into a crumple mess and his hair… well; the boy was born with unruly hair to begin with but right now, they was a total chaos.

Wordlessly, Doflamingo took the phone from Luffy's awaiting hand and about to bring it close to his ear before the boy gave him an early warning.

"Ace is still laughing his ass off, so you'll have to wait for another minute for him to finish being stupid." Luffy mumbled and walked back to where he was sitting, crossing his arms over his chest as the boy sunk his weight further into the sofa.

So Doflamingo did wait for a minute to pass by before bringing the phone back close to his ear.

"Hello." The blonde started and heard the other person still chortling but quickly masked them with a cough. They died down eventually but small chuckling still lingered at the other side of the line.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry about that." Finally, the other's voice reached him. Doflamingo corked his head to his side. For a college student, this person possessed quite a boyish voice unlike his son. At the age of sixteen, his son's voice had grown much deeper for his own age.

The other cleared his throat after he had finally calmed down. "Luffy really has the wildest imagination, don't you agree? And uuh, I'm Ace by the way. The eldest of the three. And you're…?"

"Doffy." For now, the blond didn't want to offer his last name. The idea of their baby brother is staying with a stranger was enough to make anyone squirmed in their seat so Doflamingo really didn't want to intensify the feeling by adding the fact that Luffy's roommate is the person that's in charge over the development of Dressrosa.

Lucky enough, Ace didn't press further. "Oh alright then, Doffy. Is Luffy still there?"

Hidden behind the shades, the blond shifted his blue eyes just for a bit and caught the suspicious frown of Luffy's. "Oh yeah. Currently, I think he's trying to melt me with his glares."

Five sets of amused chuckles reached his ears. "Can you move away..? I'd rather not have him listen to our conversation."

Doflamingo couldn't agree more. With a swift movement, the blond detangled his legs, stood up and began walking away towards another connecting room where refrigerated private bar along with a premium coffee machine filled the space. He noticed how the boy seemed alert with his sudden departure but otherwise, didn't follow him.

"Alright, I think the line is clear now." The tycoon said as he reached the tall glass stored in the upper cabinet.

"Thanks. I know this is kind of weird to ask, but by any chance, what exactly happened when Luffy first saw you?"

"Well," After filling quarter of the glass with water, the blond took a seat on one of the neatly arranged stool. "When he first realized the laps he has been lying on actually belonged to a stranger and not your dad's, he was spooked. He jumped, froze up for at least ten seconds before exclaiming how blond my hair is. Then he jumped again, tripped his own feet and ran to the corner, bundled himself up like a hamster thrown into a tiger cage. And he screamed too."

Sipping on his water, the blond paused momentarily to give room for Ace since the other was laughing yet again—so hard until a strangled cough was heard.

"D-did he threaten you?" Ace tried to suppress his laugh but a snort came instead.

"Very much." Doflamingo's slim finger traced the rim of the glass and chuckled. "Something about kicking me to the next island."

"Sounds very much like Luffy alright." There was a scrapping noise in the background as though a chair was being dragged across the floor. "It's not like our dad to leave Luffy with other people, much less someone he doesn't know."

_Most unlikely._ Doflamingo thought. _The prosecutor had come across his files and probably memorized the details by heart._

"But dad must have a very good reason to do so I'll believe his judgment." Ace pointed out and that somehow surprised the blond. _Is this the brother of the same boy who tried to kill him with glares? Funny how the fact doesn't really make any sense._

"Look, I know my brother can be quite unreasonable at the wrong place and wrong time, but I really hope you wouldn't take it too hard. He can be too trustable for a very wrong reason and suspicious for a very wrong reason too. For your case, I think he just doesn't trust you because you're blond, not because you're a stranger."

Propping his elbow on the counter, Doflamingo used his palm to cradle his cheek. He was beginning to enjoy speaking with the older brother. That, and at least he could kill time while he waited for the meeting. "He got issue with blondie?"

"Not that I can think of. But this is Luffy we're talking about here. He's too unpredictable yet easy to read. But then again he—"

A loud slam in the background seemed to succeed in halting the other's sentence before another voice came in. This time, it was deeper and mature than Ace and Luffy.

"Is that Lu?" The newcomer voice was closing in and soon enough, a struggling noise came through. "Come on, let me speak with him!"

It appeared that the newcomer had managed to snatch the phone from Ace since the said teen made a protest noise. "Fuck off, Sabo! It's not Lu—"

"Hey Lu!" Two seconds too late. The newcomer already talking with a cheerful manner that made Doflamingo to wonder if the boy had came across with a goldmine just now. "Guess what?! There's this awesome fishing spot we found close to our college so I was thinking—"

"I'm not Luffy." Doflamingo cut the other.

S.I.L.E.N.T

"… Who's this?" The other was suspicious alright if the low snarl was any indication. "This is Luffy's phone. Why's his phone with you?"

"Tch! I told you I'm not talking to Luffy!" Ace barked in the back. And for a couple of minutes, the newcomer was silent as he took in explanation after explanation offered by Ace. No words were exchanged. Not even an argument was issued. And once all the information was registered thoroughly into the other's mind, it was only then he spoke—with much friendly manner.

"Sorry about that, Doffy!" Apparently, the newcomer didn't have any trouble addressing a stranger with such familiarity. "I thought you were a creepy stalker. It happened before actually when Luffy was still in middle school. There's this stalker that was totally obsessed with Luffy. He kept on following our brother around and everyone was freaked out—"

"I didn't freak out." Ace cut the newcomer from behind.

"Hush, Ace. Of course you freaked out. That time, you didn't want to leave Luffy's side even for a minute." The newcomer sounded annoyed with the interruption. "Anyway, the stalker turned out to be a total psycho that escaped from Punk Hazard Mental Institution and the officer managed to put him back into the straightjacket before anything could happen. Not that anything _DID_ happen because Luffy knocked him out cold when the guy tried to strangle him—Ace, if don't stop pulling my hand I will eat you!—And ooh! I'm Sabo by the way! Luffy's big brother and the second eldest!"

Mouth twitching, Doflamingo felt nothing made sense at that moment. "… Right. And here I am having a very hard time believing that you two are this Luffy kid big brothers."

"Oooh? Why is that?"

"You're being too calm. You, your old man and the one latching on your back are too calm that I'm starting to get worried." Doflamingo twirled his stool from left to right by pushing his heels into the floor.

Even miles apart, the man just knew the boy called Sabo was smiling. "You know when people always say that parent is not always right? But in our case, dad is ALWAYS right. He's a man of logic, fact and sense. He could think of twenty moves ahead in less than a minute. Everything he did, every decision he made must have a very good reasons behind them. And usually, it would take buckets of spits and blood just to argue with him. Trust me. No matter how much we brothers argued with him, in the end, he's the one on the winning side. So if he decided to leave our brother with someone that none of us are familiar with, then dad must have good logics to back his decision."

"It's either that or dad had already came across your personal files." Unseen by Doflamingo, Sabo smirked on the other line.

Doflamingo visibly winced. _This boy is good._

"Very well. Point made." The blond rolled the empty glass on the counter and easily caught it before it could reach the edge. "Then again, I still don't see how you lots are related to this little brother of yours. While you three are so calm and relaxed like a sea cucumber, your little brother acted like I'm some kind of pedophile, accused me as someone with an evil plot to take over nation, weapons dealer, organs smuggler, an evil puppeteer and last but not least, as someone who's quite similar to a certain purple cat. So I'm going to ask this again, boy. Are we talking about the same Luffy here?"

The blond didn't receive his answer immediately since Sabo was laughing too hard that Doflamingo was certain the other was currently gripping something so he wouldn't topple over and passed out in a dead faint. Even worse, Ace has joined the gut pouring activity and the man had a wild guess that Sabo had put their conversation on speaker.

"Hell, I know we're being rude right now but—pffftt!" The sentence was cut abruptly when Sabo let out an intelligent snort—both brothers did— and the man gave the boys some time to collect themselves properly, long enough that Doflamingo decided to take a sneak peek inside the refrigerator. By the time they have finished sniggering silly, the blond too, had finished counting the amount of canned juices and soda as well as cups of puddings—everything was clearly belonged to the fifteen year old teen.

"Yeah, a lot of people find it hard to believe that we're his brothers…" Sabo finally exhaled and cleared his throat. "And not many people have the ability to handle his temperament. Still, I'm amazed you haven't strangled Luffy by now. Or at least smack him senseless."

Smirking mainly to himself, the man nonchalantly grabbed the only rice pudding before closing the refrigerator. "Please…" Doflamingo tore the seal open and dipped the small spoon provided into the sticky sweetness. He gave an experimental lick and made a non-audible 'mmmm' sound at creamy, vanilla scented and soothing aftertaste.

"If your brother's childish antic is enough to make me strangle him, then I would have driven a wooden stick deep into my son's chest long time ago." The blond mumbled through a mouthful of the stolen sticky sweetness. The texture was tender but not too mushy and Doflamingo really enjoyed it.

"You have a son?" Ace piped, sounded interested. He was right after all. He was on speaker.

Canine teeth dug into the spoon, the blond let the plastic utensil to dangle over his lips. "Only one. I imagine that he's about the same age as one of you."

"We're eighteen this year." Ace informed.

Spoon halfway into his mouth, the man paused. _'We?'_ He dimly wondered if these two are twin but decided not to dig further.

"Mmm—hmm." In respond, Doflamingo hummed. Mainly because he was rolling his tongue around the soft pudding. "My son is only a year older than you but he has already given me more than ten reasons to dig my own grave."

"Is he as bad as Luffy…?"

"Worse." Scoffed the tycoon as he polished the remaining of the pudding before tossing the used plastic spoon back into the cup. "Whenever people asked me what is my son like, I've always ended up portraying a very wary feline."

Certain images and scenarios played in his head as Doflamingo spoke. "If you're far away from him, he would chase after you relentlessly and demand your undivided attention. But when you're within a reach, he would hiss, spit and claw at you. He treated people as though they were nuisance, and yet, whenever those people in a pinch, he would probably be the first person to be there to help. Of course, he would rather chew his arm off than admitting that he was the one who helped them."

"Oh wow…" Sabo had no proper words on how to respond to the man's revelation. "Your son has a very complex personality."

"Hnn. I've wanted to believe he's just another creature from another subspace delivered to me by a sick, twisted stork. But when I think back nineteen years ago, I don't remember any stork crashing down on my rooftop." The man smirked at his own joke. It was a weird feeling though. Disclosing something that was rather personal to people he has never met. Odd, but it didn't feel quite wrong either.

"Well… Your son seemed like a _'fun'_ person and all." The cynical note was mixed almost imperceptibly in that remark. "But I'm more interested in you, Doffy."

"Me?"

"Yes, you." Sabo confirmed the tycoon. "Who are you exactly?"

Doflamingo paused, eyes narrowed ever so slightly when Sabo's voice suddenly an octave lower. Warm tone now replaced with grim one and it was hard not to notice the suspicious vibe the other was giving him.

Before long, a full fledge grin was back on his face. These boys were something else. Making small talks as these with every intention of learning few or even hundreds thing about him. Back then, the second eldest must have figured out in instant that the offered name 'Doffy' wasn't exactly his real name, more like a nickname and thus provided as little as much leverage to determine his identity. Outgoing and friendly on the outside, but in truth, the idea of his baby brother is staying with a stranger didn't exactly sit well with him.

"I thought you trust your father's judgment." Turning his stool around, Doflamingo then leaned his back against the counter.

"We do." It wasn't Sabo who answered him, but Ace. Similar to his father, the first born too had his attitude turned maybe not 360-degree, but plenty enough for a quick small amount of time. Still with boyish voice, but much firmer that left no room for stupid jokes.

"Call it childish curiosity." Ace continued, noticing how Doflamingo had become too silent.

Doflamingo fought a sort as he rolled his eyes. _Childish… Yeah right._ "And if I refuse?"

"Do you have any reason to?" The second born child challenged. "Unless you have done something illegal that's beyond our dad's knowledge, then I believe you don't have anything to hide from us. It's either you tell us your name over the phone or we'll call the hotel and ask them directly using our dad's title as the city attorney."

"Oohooh? Using daddy's name now aren't we?" Doflamingo barked a short laugh. Outside in the sitting area, Luffy must have turned on the television since the blond could hear voices of morning news coming from there.

Laughter was countered with yet another laughter from the college student. "Despite age, Sabo and I still retain out immature side. And having a complex son yourself, you should know better than anyone else that children will do whatever necessary to get things they want."

_Children and their logics._ "Fine, fine. You've won cheeky brats." The tycoon gave three sets of amused headshake. "It's Doflamingo. Donquixote Doflamingo."

"Donquixote?" Sabo repeated, needing confirmation over the declaration just now. "The same Donquixote that practically in charge over the development in Dressrosa and also known as _'The Heavenly Demon'_ slash _'The Insufferable Freak Designed To Terrorize Every Single Being On This planet'?" _

A small displeased frown knitted his eyebrow together. "I should maim whoever came up with that nickname alive and throw him into an open fire. And yes, I am that Donquixote."

The blond paused momentarily when the second nickname didn't sound quite right in his ears, not that it was right in any other way, but still, it was different. "I thought my latest name has been upgraded to _'The Heartless Bastard Who Deserves a Pole Shoved into His Ass_'?"

"It has." Amused snickers rang next to Doflamingo's ear. "I made that one up, just to see if you're really Donquixote Doflamingo in the flesh. But seeing that you've recognized your own nickname, then it's safe to conclude that you're telling the truth."

"Not funny, boys. Not funny at all."

"Made you smiled, didn't we?"

Indeed, Doflamingo was smiling that time for many reasons. Who would have thought that the sons of the state attorney were a bunch of lively teenagers that managed to pull a genuine smile out of him. Fun, outgoing and most importantly, they didn't even bother masking their affection towards their family members. If only they were friends of his son…

"Now that we know who you're are…" Ace's voice gave the blond man a slight start. So he has been in his midday trance again. "I think we can be less worried about this whole arrangement."

The blonde clicked his tongue. "So you were worried after all."

"Of course we were." Sabo answered the man truthfully. "We trust our dad, but Luffy is our baby brother. It's our job to be worried about him all the time. And it's also our vital job to be worried about those who are with him."

"Hmmp. Your brother is one hell of lucky kid. Getting spoiled rotten by—" The rest of Doflamingo's withered inside his mouth when the horror itself had decided to make an entry. The horror—known as Luffy—walked briskly towards the counter and sat on the far end tool in one swift movement and turned to the side to face him. If there's anything worse, the boy glared, rather boldly, crossing his arms over his chest while eyeing the phone in the man's hand.

The college students must have noticed the sudden tense atmosphere lingering at the end of the line. "Fuck, he's there isn't he?" Ace's voice was low and conspiratorial as though they were being monitored by The Highest Power slash World Government.

"Oh yeah. " With his back still pressed against the counter, Doflamingo made a sideway glance, noticing how Luffy's eyes had narrowed down into tiny slits. To say it was ridiculous was understatement. The boy was born with large and luminous dark eyes, but somehow managed to make them small enough for the purpose to intimidate people.

"Alright, Doffy." Sabo whispered. Well, not that Luffy could hear him, but it was just the fundamental. "First of all, DO NOT makes any sudden movement. Don't speak, don't move and definitely don't grin. If you do any of the above, Luffy will get startled and things definitely will get nasty. Lower the phone very _very_ slowly and passed it to him. But don't just shove the phone at him or else—

"Boy," Doflamingo cut the second eldest, eyes still locked with Luffy's narrowed one even though his were obscured by the heavily tinted sunglasses. "I'm not sure what this is is all about, but I need to remind you that we're not dealing with a small animal here."

Separated by few stool, a low disgruntle noise vibrated deep within Luffy's chest as the fifteen year old realized that he had been compared with small animal just now.

"Luffy is the small animal here." Ace scolded the tycoon, causing Doflamingo to move the phone slightly from his ear. "Surely you've seen him went feral like a hamster just now when he freaked out—oh God… Is that him growling?"

"Uhh—"

Apparently, nobody gave a shit or two of what Doflamingo was about to say since Sabo butted in. "Look, Doffy. Luffy is a cute kid, but seriously, you don't want to see him in his feral state. Even if you're good in handling a wet feline that you call your son, I'm not sure you can handle _'feral Luffy.'_"

"Sabo's right." The first born said. "If you don't give him the phone let say… in thirty seconds, I can ensure you that Luffy is going to jump and wrestle you down."

"Now, now boys—"

"Just do it!" Both brothers said simultaneously.

Doflamingo rubbed his ears slightly, his eardrum was ringing due to the sudden increase in volume. With a small sigh and movement as slow as he could, the blond man extended his hand towards Luffy. Similar to before, the fifteen year old eyed the blond man warily before his eyes descended on the phone dangling in between the slim fingers. The green phone icon flashing rather luridly on the screen only meant that the call is still on-going with his brother at the end of the line.

Hesitantly, Luffy grabbed the phone just by the corner and quickly pulled it closed to his chest, before bringing the device close to his ear. "Do you need to speak with him that long—Sabo..? Sabo, Sabo, Sabo!" As he chanted his brother's name like a mantra, the boy hopped off the stool and made a quick exit, scowling at the large man as he did so. He's seen the empty pudding cup—his last rice pudding—on the counter and that only gave him more reasons to dislike Doflamingo.

"You've got to listen to me! I'm on my own right—you've already knew? Then can you come here and—" Doflamingo couldn't hear the rest of the Luffy's protest as the teen walked further into the sitting area and probably had his head hidden by half a dozen throw pillows.

The blond stood up, dumped the pudding cup into the trash can and sauntered his way towards the sink with an empty glass in hand. He rolled his sleeves a couple of time to prevent the water from getting to him. There's nothing to be washed actually but Doflamingo still turned on the tap and let the water streamed over the glass. His mind that time made a non-audible whirling sound as he planned a strategy on how to handle Luffy's temperament and distrustful nature. They are going to be stuck with this arrangement for the whole week and somehow the tycoon would very much prefer if the boy doesn't treat him like he was some kind of underworld broker that kidnaps children for the purpose of a sick experiment.

After rolling the glass few more times under that tap water, it was only then Doflamingo closed the tap and placed the glass on the rack. Still, no plan came up and the blond gave his forehead a light massage to stimulate his brain.

Gods, now that he think of it, Luffy did remind him of a hamster—the one he had bought for his son on his tenth birthday. For several weeks the small fury animal refused to come out of its wooden house and Doflamingo dimly recalled how that had made his son fairly upset. Easily startled, the hamster was quick to sink its little teeth into anyone hands when forcefully picked up. But they later learned the power of hamster treat—dried wild berried was its all time favorite—since that was the only thing that managed to bring the hamster close without actually biting them. Not long after they had learned the trick, the fury little thing then gradually warmed up to his son—

In a split second, Doflamingo felt his brain clicked in a most appropriate position. He has finally put two and two together. Ever so slowly, a huge conspiratorial smile curved the blonds' mouth.

Drying his hand with the paper towel, the tycoon then exited the room and headed towards where Luffy was. It appeared that the phone call has just ended not too long ago and the teen once again, lying on the sofa. On his side, Luffy was facing the cushion and gave his back for everyone to see. Few throw pillows were bundled together—two behind his head, one on top of his head—as if they were a fortress designed to shield him from Doflamingo stare. Another two pillows were hugged tightly into his chest and the boy curled slightly to bury his face into the linen. It didn't take a genius to guess that the phone call didn't end too well on Luffy's side. Meaning that, he had failed to convince his brothers and now sulking and by any means, not in his best mood.

The blond waited for a minute after he had sat on the opposite sofa before speaking in a calm manner.

"Want to go get some breakfast?"

As expected, the human bundle twitched and Doflamingo just had to grin at that. Five seconds had lapsed before Luffy turned his body slightly, just enough for him to give sideway glance towards the man. The throw pillow on top of his head fell due to the twisting movement, but it didn't seem to bother the boy much.

"Breakfast..?" Luffy muttered, part of his face was obscured by the pillow.

"Yeah, breakfast. The restaurant on the first floor usually opened at seven." Doflamingo confirmed the teen as he crossed his leg on top of the other. "I haven't had any myself and I'm sure you haven't had yours either except for your pills."

Luffy didn't answer the other right away like he was in dilemma. To have breakfast with his current least favorite person or to ignore the grumble his stomach was making and stay sulking in his fortress. _Oh the complication…_

"I like over-hard egg for my breakfast." The teen finally made the decision, but otherwise, still watching Doflamingo intently as if to determine the man's sincerity over the invitation. But no matter from which angle he was looking at, the blond really was inviting him for breakfast, and not baiting him to participate in a life-and-death gladiator tournament.

To prevent himself from smiling too much, the older of the two bit his lower lips and lazily draped an arm over the back of sofa. "I'm sure they have that in the list. And I've heard the hot chocolate drink they made is exceptional." Doflamingo added, trying to coax the boy more.

"Oh…" Luffy seemed hesitant for a while, but otherwise, still pushing his body off the sofa and sat up. "But I can't drink hot chocolate right after my pills though. It always made me puke…" In an almost normal way, the teen mumbled into the pillow. It surprised Doflamingo even by the slightest when Luffy actually talked _talked_ to him, minus the scream and the glower.

So his food baiting strategy was a success after all. Of course, he didn't expect for the result to be this quick.

The teen inhaled the fresh linen scent of the pillow one last time before standing up. "I'm going to take a quick shower."

This time too, Luffy delivered his sentence without any actual disrespect behind them, unlike before. He paced across the sitting area and entered the bedroom where the adjacent en-suite bathroom of high quality marble with under floor heating was located. As soon as Doflamingo heard the clicking noise made by the bathroom door being shut, the blond let out a silly chuckle he has been holding on.

_Oh yeah. Like a small animal indeed._

**-To Be Continued—**

**A/N: Too long? Anyway, I'm planning to make this as a short project unlike my other stories, probably three chapters or so. But each chapter is going to be super long though. So what do you think? Interesting characters isn't?**


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